I was drifting in and out of sleep when a piercing scream filled the shanty. I stared at the door, frozen with shock. Star sat up and gave a low warning growl deep in his throat. Pirate leaped to the floor. His fur bristled. He jumped to the window and pressed his face against the dark glass. The scream came again, shrill and blood curdling at first, then turning into a long eerie wail.

In this sequel to Ellie’s New Home, Ellie, Max and Papa are living in a shanty on their own land beside a big blue lake. Ellie has learned many of the skills she needs to survive as a pioneer and she has made new friends. Meeting up with a bear in the berry patch, visits from the Indians who live across the lake and following her brother to a traveling prayer meeting are all part of Ellie’s experiences. The true test of her courage comes in the month of the “freezing moon” (the Indian name for November) when Papa fails to return from a hunting trip, and Ellie and Max must go to the Indian camp for help.

*Recommended selection in Canadian Children’s Book Center “Our Choice 2002”

*Recommended selection in Great Books For Girls, Halifax Public Libraries April 2004

*Recommended resource in Social Studies program Outlooks 3, published by Oxford Canada

What people are saying about The Freezing Moon

An enjoyable and well-researched account of pioneer life that rings with authenticity. Ellie is an engaging heroine.

Canadian Children’s Book News We Recommend. 2001

The characters are convincing. . . the pace is maintained with action, conflict and mounting tension. Vivid details bring the wilderness setting into sharp focus.The book will be well received by independent readers with a taste for historical fiction. It would work well as a novel study and as a read-aloud.

Resource Links

This book will be popular with young girls looking for an accessible book featuring a strong female character.

Canadian Children’s Literature CCL No. 105-106

A credible picture of pioneer life in a realistic story. Positive models demonstrate good problem solving techniques.

CM Magazine Volume VII Number 20 June, 2001

Suspense and relief are well handled, in keeping with the gentle warm tone of the whole story of Ellie’s courage and growing maturity.

Quill and Quire May 2001

This short large print novel illuminates a place and time worth exploring.